COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONSIDERS REPORT OF LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRTIC REPUBLIC

22 February 2005


The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has considered the report of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Presenting the report was Ket Kiettisack, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, who said the report outlined the development strategies, plans and projects which aimed to rid the country of the status of a least developed country by the year 2020 and thereby remove the population from poverty.

In the course of the discussion, which was held over two meetings, issues concerning refugees and ethnic groups, health and education, and harmful traditional practices were addressed, among other subjects.

In preliminary remarks, the country Rapporteur for the report, Committee Expert Nourredine Amir, said the dialogue had been a fruitful exercise and it had given the Experts a better view of the situation. It was intended to help bring solutions to the complex difficulties that the country was facing. The Committee, based on the dialogue and the information supplied by the delegation, would draw its conclusions.

The Committee will present its final recommendations on the sixth to fifteenth periodic reports of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which were presented in one document, at the end of its session, which concludes on 11 March.

The delegation of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic also included representatives of the Permanent Mission of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Ethnic Groups of the National Assembly.


Committee Chairperson Mario Jorge Yutzis announced that High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour would participate in the thematic discussion on the prevention of genocide to be held on 28 February and 1 March.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it is scheduled to take up the fifth to sixteenth periodic reports of France (CERD/C/430/Add.4).

Report of Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The sixth to fifteenth periodic reports, submitted in one document (CERD/C/451/Add.1), note that the population of the Lao People's Democratic Republic of 5.3 million is made up of 49 ethnic groups and that wide development gaps still persist between urban and rural areas and from region to region and social class to social class. In 1986, the Government adopted a comprehensive reform policy in the economic and political spheres. Since the Lao population is made up of various ethnic groups, the Party and the Government have always stressed the importance of the ethnic groups question and the need to thoroughly educate the multi-ethnic people in the spirit of national unity, solidarity and mutual love and assistance. They have also established a fairly detailed policy and have taken a number of measures to meet the needs of the multi-ethnic Lao People.

The State pursues a policy that aims to foster solidarity and equality between the various ethnic groups, the report says. All ethnic groups have the right to preserve and develop their way of life, traditions and cultures, in addition to those of the nation. Any act calculated to cause division or discrimination among ethnic groups is forbidden. The State takes all measures to develop and continually raise the economic and social level of all ethnic groups.

Moreover, the various ethnic groups have representatives on the governing bodies of the Party and the State. In the National Assembly, the ethnic groups hold important posts, including the vice-presidency. Within the Government itself, representatives of ethnic minorities hold positions as deputy prime minister, ministers, and junior ministers. Members of ethnic minorities also hold posts of directors and deputy directors of government departments in various ministries, diplomats, and directors of academic institutions and hospitals around the country.

Presentation of Report

KET KIETTISACK, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, said his country was not able to regularly submit its periodic reports mainly due to the lack of human resources and a budget. Thanks to bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the presentation of the report before the Committee had been made possible.

In the sphere of development, Mr. Kiettisack said the report outlined the development strategies, plans and projects which aimed to rid the country of the status of a least developed country by the year 2020 and thereby remove the population from poverty. The report also underlined the eight-point priority programme defined in the fifth five-year plan and emphasized the fields and sectors where greater attention needed to be paid.

Under article 3 of the Convention, he said the report indicated measures taken in preventing racial segregation and apartheid. Under article 4, the report stressed on the importance of article 8 of the Constitution, which prohibited all acts aimed at sowing divisions between ethnic groups as well as article 60 of the Penal Code, which stipulated that such acts of divisions were punished by law.

Mr. Kiettisack said that under article 5 of the Convention, the report drew attention to article 35 of the Constitution which prescribed that all Lao citizens, regardless of their ethnic origins, were equal before the law, and article 37 which provided that all citizens had equal rights in the social, economic, cultural and political fields. Under article 6, the report gave information about the measures that the country had taken in the fight against racial discrimination, ensuring that the rights to compensation and remedy were guaranteed by the law.

Response by Delegation to Written Questions Sent in Advance

Responding to the Rapporteur’s written questions which were sent in advance of the meeting, the delegation said individuals could invoke articles 8 and 35 of the Constitution, on equality between ethnic groups and equality between citizens respectively, before the authorities and in the courts. The new code of criminal procedure stipulated that individuals could invoke their rights before any State authority.

Asked about the legal framework permitting the creation of independent associations or non-governmental organizations working in the area of human rights and the prevention of discrimination, the delegation said the purpose of those organizations should be in conformity with the law.

Responding to a question on how the State party struck a balance between the prevention of incitement to racial discrimination on the one hand and the right to freedom of expression on the other, the delegation said there was no racial discrimination in the country.

A written question was raised on the punishment of followers of a religion who conducted activities inimical to the regime and who fostered divisions among ethnic groups or religion, to which the delegation said that with the arrival of some religious groups in the country, some problems had been created by practices which contradicted the law and the practices of the society. When some religious groups provided assistance to their followers which broke the law, this led to punishment in accordance with article 13 of the Constitution.

Asked about the continued detention of two Hmong who accompanied two foreign journalists during their visit to the country, the delegation said that two Hmong were arrested as accomplices to the two journalists who entered the country as tourists and made contacts with bandits who claimed to be members of a resistance group. The journalists were released while the two Hmong who served as contacts were still in detention.

On the elimination of poverty and the implementation of a strategy for that purpose, the delegation said a strategy had already been adopted with a mission to eliminate poverty by 2020. Within that strategy, food production was a priority that the Government started working on in 1996.

Oral Questions Raised by the Special Rapporteur and Experts

NOURREDINE AMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur to the Report of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, said the State party had made qualitative changes which had led it to globalized international relations. The economic reforms had allowed the development of a market economy, opening the way to foreign investment. Although the rate of poverty was high, depending on the geographical regions, the economic changes had been swift and deep-seeded. Commercial and financial agreements had been signed between the State party and neighbouring countries, as well as with international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The situation of women and minority children, however, did not follow the evolution in the country. The State party had not ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Mr. Amir said. He also wanted to receive further information on the issue of prostitution and sexual tourism, and on the 1999 report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The consequences of the increasing poverty in urban and rural areas were among the numerous factors of uneven development.

Mr. Amir said the State party did not use the term "ethnic minority" in its official dealings, but instead used "ethnic group" or "ethnic people" in all its official documents, including the Constitution. In reality, the term "ethnic people" implicitly referred to all those who were not ethnic Laotians. The delegation was asked to elucidate the situation.

The Government did not recognize the term "indigenous people", Mr. Amir said. An ILO study issued in 2000 referred to 200 distinct ethnic groups in the country. Today, there were 49 groups, according to the new classification which had been elaborated in 1989 and had been submitted to the National Assembly. Before that classification, there were 67 groups. The delegation was asked to provide information on how the ethnic groups were reduced from 67 to 49.

With regard to article 5 of the Convention, no information had been provided on the measures taken to guarantee the cultural, linguistic, or religious rights of minorities, on the fate of refugees who fled the country to the neighbouring countries, and on the provisions adopted to facilitate their repatriation without any discrimination, Mr. Amir said.

Mr. Amir said the situation of the Hmong ethnic minority needed particular attention. That minority lived in the northern part of the country and constituted the second largest ethnic minority. Since the conditions of that ethnic minority were apparently not adequately dealt with, he asked the delegation to provide him with information on the Government’s policy concerning the Hmong.

Another Expert asked about the measures taken to avoid racial discrimination in the field of employment, in the implementation of poverty eradication programmes, and in the field of education. He said that the Committee would like to be informed about the representation of women in public affairs. The Committee was concerned about the army’s alleged repressive measures against some villagers.

On the issue of relocation, an Expert asked if adequate consultations had been carried out before such measures were taken for the purpose of dam building or to eliminate the growing of opium by some indigenous groups. He asked if there was a discussion on establishing a human rights commission in conformity with the Paris Principles on setting up national human rights institutions.

Another Expert said the State party had not incorporated the principles of the United Nations and its Charter, including human rights teaching, in its educational programmes. The delegation was asked to comment on this issue.

On individual identification, an Expert said individuals apparently were assigned to ethnic groups without their consent. The delegation was asked to provide information on the identification of ethnic groups in accordance with International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention no. 169 on the rights of indigenous peoples.

A number of Experts also asked the delegation to clarify allegations concerning military abuse, the relocation of ethnic groups and trafficking in persons.

Response by Delegation to Oral Questions

Asked whether Buddhism was an official religion of the State party, the delegation said that following the 1991 constitutional reform and subsequent amendments of 2003, Buddhism remained the unofficial religion.

To combat trafficking and prostitution, the Government continued to cooperate with countries of destination, the delegation said. Measures were adopted in order to eliminate such phenomena.

With regard to harmful traditional practices, particularly in the north of the country, the Government had exerted efforts to stop practices such as the killing of twins, the delegation said. A pregnant woman known to be carrying twins was protected by the State. She was taken to a place where she could deliver and bring up her twins safely. The Government, however, was not encouraging people to lose their traditional identity.

Responding to a question on why the number of ethnic groups had been reduced from 67 to 49, the delegation said that up to 1981, after the war of liberation, the ethnic groups had been classified into three nationalities, based on geographic location. In each nationality, there had been a number of ethnic groups totalling 67. However, after 1981, that classification no longer reflected the reality. A new classification, based on ethnological research, was necessary for new national consolidation. Languages, customs and historical backgrounds of each ethnic group were taken as the first criteria for the new classification. The free choice of any individual or group to belong to any ethnic groups was also taken into consideration. Many ethnic groups had taken the decision to be identified as one ethnic group. At present, there were 49 officially registered ethnic groups. The Lao-Tai linguistic group made up approximately 66.5 per cent of the population.

The delegation was asked why the Government did not use the term "minority" in reference to ethnic groups, to which it said that the Government feared that use of that term was tantamount to racial discrimination. The use of the term "ethnic groups" had a demonstrated equality among all the groups. With regard to the use of the term "indigenous", there was no universal recognition of the history detailing which ethnic groups arrived first in the country. The Government believed that it was wise to follow a policy of building equality among all ethnic groups. The issue of "who came first" or who "colonized" whom was not the case in the Republic. The country was made up of a mosaic of people with different cultures and languages who coexisted harmoniously.

On the issue of the relocation of certain ethnic groups from the mountainous regions to the plains, the delegation said that this measure had helped those ethnic groups gain access to education and other social services. The groups had previously received no education because of the lack of educational facilities in their remote regions.

The delegation said that the society of the Lao People's Democratic Republic was still governed by tradition and customs, and disputes were resolved by reconciliation. The positive law did not counter the existence of customary laws. However, the law was applied in cases of serious criminal cases.

The right to freedom of religion was respected in the country and all religious groups were free to practice their respective religions, the delegation said. Only those who contravened the law were prosecuted.

In conclusion, the delegation said that the 20-year silence since the country had last presented a report to the Committee had given rise to discrepancies and the Government was ready to do all it could to close the gaps created by this long absence.

Preliminary Remarks

NOURREDINE AMIR, the Committee Expert serving as Country Rapporteur to the Report of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, said the dialogue had been a fruitful exercise and it had given the Experts a better view of the situation. It was intended to help bring solutions to the complex difficulties that the country was facing. The Committee, based on the dialogue and the information supplied by the delegation, would draw its conclusions. He had noted that Buddhism was not an official religion. As the delegation indicated, the rate of prostitution was not declining. The Government needed to work in the northern part of the country to ensure the health of the population. The State party should also bring an end to what it called "old and backward practices" among the people, for example, the killing of twins.

This press release is not an official record and is provided for public information only.